Nico's New Family
by LauraHeartfilia
Summary: The story of Nico's acceptance which spans a great number of years. It all started with just a few sentences Piper Mclean said to him on a cold night on the Argo II. No pairings, just friendship.
1. Chapter 1

"Bianca..." Nico whispered, her name being swallowed by the wind. He spent far too much time like this: perched on the hull of the Argo II, staring into the open sky, thinking about what might have been. The truth is, Nico would never get over the death of his sister. No matter what he told anyone else.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He didn't turn around. Honestly? The less people associated with Nico di Angelo the better. Well, that was his opinion, anyway. After all, he only ever brought death and pain to anyone he cared about.

"Nico?" the presence asked in a sweetly angelic tone. It surprised him. Out of everyone on the Argo II, Piper Mclean was probably the least likely person to seek out the Son of Hades.

"What do you want?" he didn't mean to put emphasis on the you part, but sometimes he just couldn't help it. It just sort of happened. Like his brain was hardwired to drive out as many people as possible. It was a real pain. "Well... Everyone's having lunch in the mess hall, and... It would be great if you could come and join us."

At that moment, Nico was about to get up and do exactly that - it seemed like a brilliant idea. Then he remembered: Charmspeak. Of course, the daughter of Aphrodite could convince him to jump into the ocean and drown to his death if she wanted to. In some respects, she's even more powerful than Percy or Jason, Nico noted.

"No thanks." Replied Nico automatically. "I'm fine out here." He wasn't sure if that was necessarily true; does 'fine' constitute getting lost in memories of what once was? Piper let a sigh of exasperation, not unlike the ones that Bianca used to let out when he followed her around, or when he bored her with useless stats and figures about Mythomagic. He expected her to just turn back round and walk off.

"Hazel really cares about you, y'know?" Piper made her way over and gently perched herself next to him. "She really does love you."

Nico allowed himself a small smile - a rare sight, indeed. "I love her, too. More than anything in this world," turning towards her, he added "She's my sister, after all." Piper stared at Nico in awe. It was all so strange: Nico di Angelo, who was usually emotionless and moody, was just sat there, pouring out the deepest recesses of his heart, to someone like... Her!

"I had another sister once." Nico began, his face blank. "She practically raised me." He had to swallow back tears as he added "But she's gone now. Hazel is... She's all I've got left." His voice cracked at the end of his sentence.

He hated this. Hated it. He hated always being on the brink of tears whenever he thought about Bianca. He hated showing just how weak he was, just how broken, to other people. He hated being alone all the time, hated how he constantly isolates himself from others for no reason. And most of all? He hated bearing all this hatred, carrying it with him day-to-day. Sometimes, he just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep. Forever.

"That's... That's so sad!" Piper gasped, shock written all over her face. She had no idea how much Nico had been hurting, no idea what he'd gone through.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter." Nico had regained his icy demeanor, his defenses back up again.

"Nico..." Piper didn't know what to say. She knew that nothing she could possibly say could make anything better for him, but at the same time, she had to say something, she had to at least TRY to open the door to his closed heart. He was her best friend's brother, after all. Besides, the guy really needed a friend. He didn't deserve to be lonely all the time.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Nico!" Piper blurted out. "You don't have to suffer all by yourself anymore!" Nico stared, dumbfounded.

"Every single person on this ship is a demigod, Nico. We've all had our fair share of pain... Even me. But's that's the thing. Because of all that pain, we understand each other. Not only that, but we can help each other, too. We laugh together, fight together, and work things out together. We're like family. And... Nico... We'd all love for you to be a part of our family. Just... Think about that for a while. Please." Piper got up and headed back into the mess hall, leaving Nico all alone, but with a much, much lighter heart.


	2. Chapter 2: The Return

**NOTE: I continued! Finally, I decided to continue! A huge, huge, thankyou to SirPepsi for giving me the idea. Also, if you're a fan of Percy Jackson (which of course, if you're here, you are) I advise you to go and read The Son of Hypnos, by SirPepsi himself (well, I assume it's a 'him', judging by the 'sir' part)... Anyway, enjoy!**

Years passed. The War between Gaia and the god's raged on, with no party ever gaining a clear lead. It seemed pointless. Deaths followed deaths, battles followed battles, and hatred followed hatred. Still, Piper's words stayed with Nico, despite all the hardships he went through.

Eventually the war came to an end.

There were no winners, no losers. Only survivors. Everyone had grown tired of the constant fighting, fighting for causes they had long forgotton. As the demigods looked back on it, it all seemed so pointless, so meaningless, and such a _waste. _Even the children of Ares were fed up of it - and that was really saying something.

The war had sucked all the love and warmth out of Camp Half-Blood; everyone was so cold and tense towards eachother that the godess Hestia was rarely seen anymore. People generally walked round, their heads bowed low, constantly avoiding eye contact.

Which was why Nico's reappearance at Camp-Half Blood was such a memorable event. Everybody looked up. Everybody glanced at eachother, nervous. Everybody began whispering furiously to each other.

Was that him? Was that _the_ Nico di Angelo, son of Hades? Had he _really _returned?

These weren't excited whispers, however. They were suspicious whispers, mistrustful whispers, scared whispers. You see, there were many strange rumors circulating about Nico di Angelo. Creepy rumors. Disturbing rumors.

Some said he had given up on the human race and moved into Tartaros, preferring the company of demons and monsters to that of people. Other's said he was crazy, that he'd gone insane half-way through the war and began plotting against the gods. Some even said he was dead.

None of those were true.

He stalked down the hill. He'd replaced his old aviator jacket with a long, black leather trench coat that billowed in the wind. His hair had gotten longer. His skin had gotten paler. The bags under his eyes had become deeper, bigger, more prominent.

"Tell me where Chiron is." he ordered a rather alarmed 11 year old daughter of Hermes.

"Er, I, er-"

"Just tell me."

"He's... I think he's in the Big House! You... you know where that is, right?!" she squeaked in a combination of awe and fear.

"Yes," he replied, unsmiling, yet not unkindly either. "Thankyou."

And so he trudged off.

Behind him, there trotted a large, beast-like dog with blood red eyes. It's teeth and claws were sharper than coffin nails, and it's thick black fur was as soft as snow. Nico whistled.

"Hurry up, Tutore. I wanna be out of here as soon as possible."

Tutore let out a sharp bark before catching up to his Master. Nico sank his hands into Tutore's fur, feeling a surge of comfort well up inside him when he did so. He had to admit, it made him pretty nervous to come back here, after all these years. If he was honest, he was terrified of the curious and slightly disgusted faces of the onlookers. They hurt him more than all the wounds he had sustained during the war put together.

He really hated that.

His heart pounding, he finally found the courage to knock on the door.

Oh yes, he was terrified.

**Note: Sorry it was short. They'll be more coming soon, I promise... By the way, _Tutore_** **is an Italian word which translates into _Guardian._**


	3. Chapter 3

When Chrion opened the door to the Big House, his face grew into a textbook example of 'fear'.

"N-Nico? Is that really you?"

"Who else could it be, Chiron?" Nico replied, his tone flat, dead and unreadable.

Chiron started. He snatched up his bow and arrow from the table behind him, and, in one swift, blink-and-you'll-miss-it-movement, had the arrow aimed directly at the centre of Nico's forehead, ready to fire. Nico, meanwhile, did not even flinch.

"Do not come any closer!" Chiron barked (or should I say 'neighed', seeing as he's part horse?) "I am prepared to defend this camp with my life! If you agree to peacefully leave now, then neither you, nor your hellhound, will come to any harm!"

"Chiron, I do not wish to hurt anyone."

"But... You..."

Tentatively, Nico stretched out his arm and gently tapped the tip of Chiron's bow. As soon as his deathly pale fingers made contact with the hard wood, the bow disappeared, and was instantly transformed into a mass of coarse, black sand, which then dropped to the ground. The ash-like substance lay scattered at Chiron's hooves, and had dyed his usually shining white flanks a color which was darker than midnight itself.

"I don't wanna see anymore violence. People should know by now that it's not gonna solve anything."

"...How..."

"My control over death is getting stronger, that's how. Now, sit down. I have something I need to discuss."

Chiron tried to slow both his breathing and heart-rate down, for fear of a complete overload. There was nothing unusual about this. Just another regular demigod, seeking his age-old guidance. Nothing to be afraid of.

He kept telling himself that, yet it seemed to have absolutely no effect. Chiron _knew _that he was immortal, and that this boy's unnatural deathly powers would have no affect on him, but for some reason, some strange, unknown reason, he could not stop shaking with sheer terror.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" Nico murmured as he plonked himself down on a nearby chair. "It's alright. Everyone is. People always say that they don't fear death, that they've 'lived their lives to the full', and that 'death is the next great adventure', but when the time comes, they kick and scream, and cling onto their lives 'till the bitter end, even if it's hopeless."

Chiron stared in disbelief. Was this really the same hyperactive boy who had arrived at camp all those years ago, wielding a pack of collectors cards and demanding to know how much attack power he had? Was this really the same boy who had felt uneasy about watching the orientation film, because he didn't think his sister would approve? Was it really him?

He doubted it. Tartaros had changed him, molded him into a different man entirely.

"That maybe so, Nico," Chiron replied, trying to regain his calm composure. "however, I'm guessing you came here to see me today to talk about more pressing matters than death philosophies, wouldn't you agree?"

Nico nodded. "It's about The War."

"The War? But, Nico, neither side has fought for the past year... It's over."

"That's what you think." Nico answered cryptically. Tutore barked in agreement.

"My boy, what are you trying to say?"

"There has been no formal end to the war, meaning that Gaia could strike at literally _any time_. I believe that now, at this very moment, she's only laying low to lure us into a false sense of security, and will attack when we least expect it. It's only a matter of time."

_Us. We._ So Nico was still on the side of the gods, after all. That was certainly a relief - fighting against a boy - no, _man - _who radiated so much power would be akin to trying to fight a tornado head on, Chiron just _knew _it.

"I see..." answered Chiron, deep in thought. "So, you're saying we must once again prepare for battle?"

"No, I'm saying the exact opposite. We need a peace offering."

"Peace? My boy, I'm afraid that when dealing with a monstrosity such as Gaia, peace just isn't possible."

"Have you even tried?" Nico snapped back at him. "You say _'peace isn't possible with Gaia'_, when you haven't even attempted to make the peace yourself! You've given up on it without even trying! War is the first action you and everyone else always jump to! I'm starting to think that you and all the gods don't even care!" he suddenly shot up out of his seat and began pacing furiously up and down the room. "All the lives lost... All the friendships broken... But you don't give a crap, do you?!" He was pretty much screaming now, his hoarse voice filling the room with his anger. "You're immortal - why should you care?! Doesn't affect you, huh?! Am I right?!"

"Nico..." Chiron gently tried to place his strong hand on Nico's abnormally thin shoulder, but he quickly shoved him away.

"Don't touch me!"

After that, Nico froze. His face fell, and he sunk back into the sofa. Although his head was bowed low, Chiron could just make out tears forming in the teenagers black eyes.

"I'm sorry, Chiron... It's just... Tartaros."

_Tartaros. _With that one word, Chiron understood all.

"...Nico, where have you been for so long? What on earth have you been doing?"

"It doesn't matter, it's none of your concern." Nico looked up at him. "All I came here for was your consent to put this war to an end. And if you love your pupils as much as you claim to do, then you would give it to me."

Chiron sighed - as much as he hated to admit it, the boy was right; something HAD to be done, they couldn't just go on living like cowards for much longer, or else only the gods knew what would happen.

"Very well then, you have my permission. However, you _must_ take 2 other campers with you; it is most unwise to venture into Gaia's domain alone."

"I'm not alone." Nico insisted as he once again sank his fingers into his hellhound's warm fur. "I have Tutore... And as for the last person, well, I have someone in mind... One of the few people I trust..."

* * *

**End of Chapter 3! Sorry if Nico seems a lil' OOC, it's only cuz this is set a few years in the future, so his personality has obviously developed a bit. Hope you liked! :D Please review, that would mean a lot :3**


End file.
